Abstract

The right of appellate review in criminal cases is not an absolute, inherent, natural or vested right, and is not a necessary element of due process or equal protection of law. If, however, a right to appeal is granted, the procedure cannot discriminate nor arbitrarily deprive an accused of his right to appeal as this violates the due process and equal protection clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment.

The right to appeal is not part of the common law, and if it exists at all, it is by virtue of some constitutional provision or statutory enactment. Since the right of appeal is a privilege, the state can extend or withhold this privilege, or may grant it on such terms and conditions as it may prescribe. The jurisdiction of a court to review criminal cases depends upon the power conferred on the court by constitutional or statutory provision.

Every American jurisdiction, by statute or constitutional provision, provides for appellate review in criminal cases at the instance of the convicted defendant. There are three forms of appeal: (1) review as a matter of course or automatic appeal; (2) appeal as of right on initiative of the accused; and, (3) discretionary appeal. Arizona's criminal appellate procedure at present comes within the category of appeal as of right on initiative of the accused.

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